1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool-less lockable railroad bracket with a built-in kick plate and other gravel or stone displacing qualities for easy placement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Background: Aside from transporting freight and passengers, the railroad industry has several ancillary track support activities performed daily primarily dealing with track maintenance and inspection tasks. On a daily basis, the tasks have to be carried out by maintenance personnel. The daily tasks insure the performance integrity of the tracks, and thereby also ensuring the safety of the railroad tracks, its workers and passengers.
As part of maintaining the rail system there are several crews of track workers performing repair and maintenance activities every day all year around. As the rail system has become more sophisticated and busy, the necessity for maintenance personnel has increased significantly. This results in many more track workers, maintenance and inspection personnel in harms way of being struck by a passing train or other track-maintenance vehicle.
Methods and protocols are in place with railroads and their maintenance contractors to help prevent active rail traffic from occurring during the same time period as the track workers and maintenance workers are present. Unfortunately, even though these methods and protocols are in place, there remain many commonly occurring scenarios where active trains and maintenance equipment can rapidly enter a work or inspection zone without the knowledge or expectation of the personnel actively working on the track. This immediate danger of trains or rail track vehicles entering work zones has caused many recorded injuries and fatalities. In fact, this serious problem to prevent injuries and fatalities has not just been recent occurrence or even just over the past several decades, but since the beginning of the railroads. Accordingly, a need exists to warn of trains or rail track vehicles entering work zones to prevent injuries and fatalities.